Male muscle strength response to two methodologies for 1RM testing

Resumen

The aims of this study were to valuate and to compare the weight moved during the execution of the 1 RM test using two different methodologies: with and without visual privation. The sample was composed of twelve men with age 29 ± 7.9 years, weight 79.1± 9.6 kg, height 175 ± 6.2 cm and BMI 25.8 ± 2.7 Kg/m², divided into 2 sessions, for the following exercises: Bench press (BP), Leg-press (LP) and Lat pull down (LPD). The study protocol was broken down as follows: 1st Day – Measurements taken of body mass and height. The 1RM test was then applied without visual privation; 2nd Day - retest of 1RM to check weight reliability; 3rd Day - Application of the test of 1RM with visual privation; 4th Day - retest of 1RM to check weight reliability. Therefore, for each methodology, the individuals were subjected to two sessions of 1RM tests in order to achieve better intratest reliability (r=0.98, r=0.95 and r=0.94, for LP, BP and LPD respectively). Applying Student’s t test to the results demonstrated a signifi cant increase in muscle strength when the 1RM test was performed with visual privation, in relation to the test without visual privation, for bench press (5.37% - p <0.0001), leg press (8.25% - p <0.0001) and Lat pull down (5,12% - p <0,0001). Intertest correlation was high with and without visual privation (Leg press - r = 0.98, bench press - r = 0.98, Lat pull down - r = 0.94) .In conclusion, the application of the 1RM test with visual privation was shown to be effective because it prevents the subject from seeing the test weight, and consequently underestimate their own performance and possible increase cognitive self-effectiveness.